Benny joins the justice league
In the wake of allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Jimmy Savile and some of his entourage—or one of his entourages as it happens
—the Catholic Church in England and Wales has written to the Holy See to ask whether the papal knighthood bestowed on Savile in 1990 can be revoked. But it appears that this might not be possible.
As there does not exist any permanent official list of persons who have received papal honours in the past, it is not possible to strike anyone off a list that does not exist.
Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's official spokesman
The Catholic Church has had a lot of experience with paedophiles, a bit closer to home than a papal knighthood, and there seems to be some disparity between the rhetoric and actions. While he was archbishop of Munich, Joseph Ratzinger—later to become Pope Benedict XVI or Benny the Rat
—was allegedly involved in covering up* the paedophiliac activities of one of his priests.
Later he became a fulsome advocate of measures to safeguard young people in the future
and bring to justice
priests who were responsible for abuse. Although it's not clear whether he actually meant proper, civil law justice, or just the kind of justice
that the church makes up to prevent embarrassment.
Perhaps Benny's finally learnt right from wrong. Which has got to be a good thing for the man at the head of the Roman Catholic Church. God will be pleased about that!
* Not necessarily ignoring the crime, but dealing with it internally rather than handing the perpetrator over to the proper authorities for the due process of the law. The church should not be above the law.